Jamaican athletes test positive for methylhexanine

The five members of Jamaica\'s world championship squad who returned positive doping tests had traces of the stimulant methylxanthine in their urine samples, a Jamaican anti-doping official is reported to have said Sunday, according to a report on www.reuters.com.



All five tested positive for methylxanthine, the Jamaican anti-doping official said. While not listed on the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list, methylxanthine falls within a category of stimulants banned by the agency, anti-doping experts said.



A hearing on their cases is scheduled for Wednesday by the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) if \'B sample\' results are known in time, the official said.



\"This stimulant is found in a lot of nasal inhalers that people use,\" he added.



\"If they can give a satisfactory explanation of how this was found in their system they could receive a public warning but if it is felt it was used to gain an unfair advantage then they could get a two-year ban,\" said the official, who requested his name not be used.



If the process is not completed and the athletes not cleared by Thursday, the five could not be part of Jamaica\'s team at the world championships, which start in Berlin on August 15, the official said.